Eintracht Frankfurt will look to see the job through in the second leg of the Europa League last 16 tie at home to Ajax on Thursday night.
Dino Toppmoller‘s men are 2-1 up from the first leg in Amsterdam last week, after Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri goals turned the match on its head following Brian Brobbey‘s opener for the Eredivisie leaders.
Match preview
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For Frankfurt, the task is simple: avoid defeat and they will be in the quarter-finals to face either Tottenham Hotspur or AZ Alkmaar.
Form in Europe this season should provide them with plenty of belief, considering Frankfurt have won their last three at Deutsche-Bank Park without conceding – their best run in over 30 years.
The only goals Toppmoller’s men conceded at home during the league phase could be put down to complacency more than anything against Viktoria Plzen, when they drew 3-3 despite leading by two goals heading into the final four minutes.
However, RFS, Slavia Prague and Ferencvaros were no match for the Bundesliga side, and contributed to a fifth-place finish in the league phase.
Also, when winning the first leg away from home, Frankfurt have advanced to the next round on all seven previous occasions, giving the home support more reasons to be confident.
Positive statistics are much needed at the moment, because Frankfurt’s league form has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.
No home team has won a Bundesliga match in the past two matchdays, and Frankfurt were beaten on both weekends, 4-1 against Bayer Leverkusen, and 2-1 on Sunday versus Union Berlin.
Eintracht led after an hour, but conspired to throw those three points away against a Union side that had lost three in a row heading into the fixture, with Hugo Ekitike also missing a 95th-minute penalty that would have salvaged a point.
They are still in the top four, but are just one point above Freiburg following three successive defeats, as they were the last away team to lose a game in the German top flight – 4-0 at Bayern on February 23.
Keeping up their 100% record at home to Dutch clubs will help to alleviate those domestic issues though, in what will be a first meeting against a club from the Netherlands here since the 1980-81 season, when Frankfurt beat Utrecht 3-1.
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Ajax rarely enjoy their trips to Germany either, winning just one of the last five – 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in 2021.
After losing the first leg at home, Ajax have gone on to suffer elimination in eight of the previous nine European ties, but the one exception was their remarkable 4-1 win away to Real Madrid in 2019, so Francesco Farioli will hope his troops can dig in and find a similar performance here.
Forcing extra time may not be a bad idea for the visitors, who have progressed from the last four European ties that have required it, including in the last round against all odds with 10 men against Union SG.
Spirits will have been lifted by the 1-0 win at Zwolle over the weekend that maintained their eight-point lead over PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie, but early elimination from Europe will be a slight disappointment, especially after also going out of the KNVB Beker to AZ at the start of the year, the team they could face in the quarter-finals if they advance here.
Team News
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The first leg’s match-winner Skhiri will be available again after he missed the weekend defeat against Union Berlin through suspension, but he will need to watch his step as he is close to a ban in Europe as well.
Nnamdi Collins is suspended though after being booked in the first leg, joining Igor Matanovic (foot), Aurele Amenda (unregistered) and Timothy Chandler (hamstring) on the sidelines here.
Michy Batshuayi scored his first Frankfurt goal at the weekend, and could partner Ekitike up front, with the Frenchman needing a lift after his late penalty miss at the weekend, extending his recent form to just two goals in eight matches.
Ajax’s Jordan Henderson registered his first Europa League assist since 2012 in the first leg, but he was also cautioned, so the ex-England international will miss this clash through suspension.
Davy Klaassen has served his ban following the red card he received in the second leg against Union SG last month, but Wout Weghorst (foot), Youri Regeer (ankle) and Owen Wijndal (knee) will miss out.
Remko Pasveer was forced off in the first leg with injury, and January signing Matheus is not a part of Ajax’s Europa League squad, so Jay Gorter is set to be the man tasked with donning the gloves for the visitors in this one.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Kristensen, Tuta, Theate, Brown; Knauff, Larsson, Skhiri, Gotze; Ekitike, Batshuayi
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Gorter; Gaaei, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Fitz-Jim, Mokio, Taylor; Berghuis, Brobbey, Godts
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Ajax
After a very impressive performance in the Dutch capital last week, Frankfurt are fancied to progress, but there will be some slight concerns about carrying their poor league form over into Europe.
Ajax have won 10 in a row in the Eredivisie, but after scraping through against Union SG in the last round, this may be one step too far, and their European journey will more than likely come to an end here.
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